Robo-teamwork: Robotic cockroach used to launch robotic bird

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Walking and flying robots both have their use cases. A walking robot is efficient and easier to build, while a flying robot is faster and more versatile. There have been efforts to combine them into a single multi-modal unit, but the complexities make that less than ideal. That’s why robot teams, like this cockroach-bird pairing, are being investigated. This might offer the best of both worlds.

This experimental system was developed at UC Berkeley, and it consists of a walking robot called the VelociRoACH and a flying robot mounted on its back called the H2Bird. The VelociRoACH is capable of running at about three meters per second, but it doesn’t need to go that fast to launch the H2Bird. The flying half of the team weighs a little over 13 grams and can’t launch itself from a standstill — it needs a boost of at least 1.3 meters per second.

Prior to the launch, the robo-roach simply hauls the H2Bird around on it back. You might think that would reduce its efficiency, but this is actually beneficial for both robots. When they’re connected, the pair can work as a team. Researchers found that by having the H2Bird flap its wings at 5Hz (not fast enough to take off), the effective weight of the cockroach is decreased by 12 percent and it’s more stable. The bird component also benefits as it doesn’t have to expend as much energy for forward momentum in this arrangement.

H2Bird and VelociRoACH launch system is currently controlled remotely by humans. The goal is to make the process completely autonomous. There’s also hope that researchers might be able to develop a system by which the pair can link up again without human assistance.